


Keith Alone

by charismawizard



Series: Divided We Fall [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Hurt, I may make these one shots a series, Klance if you squint, M/M, Other, Spoilers, Swearing, The title is totally a reference to the other flamey angst child, set post finale
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-29
Updated: 2016-08-29
Packaged: 2018-08-11 20:34:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7906639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charismawizard/pseuds/charismawizard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After being thrown into the far reaches of space following their battle of Zarkon, Keith has been stranded on a seemingly deserted for the past two weeks. </p><p>And a part of him believed he deserved it.</p><p>[Spoilers for season 1 finale of Voltron: Legendary Defenders]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Keith Alone

Two weeks.

That’s how long Keith had been stranded on this godforsaken planet. Alone. And after having had a taste of what it was like to have that familial normality, it was ripped away from his grasp and a part of him wasn’t shocked by such a turn of events at all.

First he had lost Shiro, his mentor, someone that was practically a brother to him and then he got him back. At first the additional three people that came with this were a burden to Keith. This wasn’t what he had planned. But he couldn’t help but think to himself, that perhaps there was a reason for them to cross paths like this in the first place.

 

_“You know, Keith and Lance? Neck and neck? We’re rivals!”_

 

And then there was Lance. To say he was indifferent to the boy’s arrogance and far more flamboyant personality would’ve been a wild understatement, however, he didn’t hate him. Which is why Lance’s constant insistence that there was some kind of rivalry between them in the first place baffled him.

Suddenly, Keith was violently yanked from his daydream like state as lightning cracked in the distance with heavy rainfall soon following. The red paladin sighed, this weather was absolutely dismal; not to mention destroying Red. Since the crash, Keith hadn’t stepped foot in the crimson lion, as the machine had spit him out and refused to let him enter. And this infuriated the teen, after all they had been through, Red just _had_ to shut down on him now. Just fucking _perfect._

So now, he was stuck outside, just watching the rain slowly rust the mech’s pristine steel. Now appearing more as the artifact it truly was, as it lie helplessly on it’s side. From within the alcove Keith hid from the constant sogginess of the rainforest, Red almost seemed like a great fallen beast. Once at the top of the world and now-- Keith hacked, feeling the mucus coating his throat thickly. Now he too was at the bottom.

 

 

Keith’s closest semblance of the comfort he once had was within his own dreams, there he saw everything that fulfilled him once. Gave him purpose. He saw jumbled thoughts and heard distant dialogs, some of which a fraction of him regrets. Regrets, sorrows, heartache. He saw a lot of that in his mind too. Especially when it came to his own impulsive behavior, as even in his dreams he blamed himself for the fact that he was alone now.

And the paladin had managed to convince himself that he deserved it.

But even in heartache, he found solace among the people he had come to consider family. He dreamt of all the nights he found Pidge dozing off in a random wing of the castle, undisturbed and sound, it was almost as though it was the first time they had slept in days. Thus, he only draped his coat across their chest and the next morning, it would always be at the foot of his door. He remembered all the times he had spent in comfortable silence with Shiro, because the latter of two understood that sometimes what couldn’t be articulated didn’t have to be.

However, a surprising number of nights he thought of Lance. He had so many memories with the blue paladin, he could remember his laugh, his dumb attempts to make others laugh, his stubborn attitude, but what stood out most was his quiet moments.

 _“Hey, we make a good team.”_ Keith had decided. 

 _“Yeah,”_ he replied, _“we do.”_

They did. He missed that too.

 

 

The next morning when he woke, he saw a smoke plume curling in the distance, a part of him was practically screaming to run, but logic managed to edge itself into the argument. Keith now finding himself compelled to move towards it. And thus, he did.

The paladin yawned, his limbs stiff from the muggy forest air and lack of good sleep, as he pursued his curiosity. The burning sensation became thick in his nostrils as he tore his way through the forest. The greenery that was once blocking his way now dashed in the wake of his trial, and the closer he found himself to the source-- the more putrid the scent burned.

As he finally came within feet of the smoke, he discovered what the source had been as rapid chatter could be heard just beyond the trees. An entire village, right under his goddamn nose. How could he have missed that?

Keith stepped out from behind the bushes, now confronted by ring of cabins all surrounding the source of the smoke, a campfire. There couldn’t have been that many people there, roughly twenty at best, as they all went about their business exchanging goods and services amongst themselves. 

 

The red paladin looked on in befuddlement, now raising a single gloved hand, “Uh- hi?”

Suddenly, he felt all eyes turn on him, the creatures seemingly terrified of this weird looking thing that just emerged from the forest bearing a large weapon. The villagers weren’t miniscule compared to Keith, so to say, but they still felt rather small in comparison as they all met him at about waist height. 

They were quite stout and he could spot several pairs of angular, greenish ears jutting out from behind thick manes of unkempt hair. And every time his eyes landed on a pair, he found himself remembering Allura and Coran’s ears, except these weren’t the Altean ears he had come to know so well.

However, Keith quickly realized he had spent far too long reminiscing as a small child appeared to be quivering behind their parents, their eyes now laying over the knife he gripped onto for dear life.

“Don’t be afraid, I’m not going to hurt you!” Keith urged, now stashing the knife away and holding up his hands. “I’m a paladin of Voltron, I’m here to protect you.”

But despite his best efforts, clearly his message hadn’t been heard as they all continued to look on in utter confusion before turning to one another and speaking in a language that sounded like utter gibberish to Keith. Clearly, the lack of Red’s universal translator hadn’t been a factor Keith had remembered to take in prior to this meeting.

And thus, just as suddenly as it had started, the villagers ignored the boy and returned to their business. Keith pursed his lips, attempting to hold back the majority of his tears as utter helplessness washed over his being. Suddenly, the rain didn’t feel so inappropriately dismal now.

 

Three weeks.

It had been three weeks since he had landed on this godforsaken planet. And Keith had decided he didn't want to be alone anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone, it's me again! So after having finished 'Public Enemy', I considered making it two chapters but instead I decided to take a different path and so these will be a set of one shots instead following the Paladins' lives shortly after the season one finale. So if you enjoyed this, leave a comment telling me what you thought and perhaps a kudos. That'd be cool of you.
> 
> Also, I have a tumblr, so if you'd like to see what I do over there feel free to check it out at indecisive-author.tumblr.com. And I'd like to thank you guys for reading my working and supporting me.
> 
> So hey-- thanks!


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